Too Hot to Handle
by MissJesselle
Summary: Jim finds out the drawbacks of being used to a considerably lower body temperature. Kirk/Spock.
1. Chapter 1

Star Trek does not belong to me, of course.

*****

Jim would never have expected Spock to be the cuddling type. But then again, he _had_ been wrong about Spock in the past.

For example, he had not expected Spock to start actively seeking his company - and showing up at Jim's quarters with a chessboard under his arm every single day (not that Jim complained, but honestly, Every. Single. Day.) undeniably counted as such.

Nor had Jim expected Spock to reciprocate his attraction and for a long time believed that he was merely projecting (but soon enough, all the furtive and wistful glances and fleeting touches made him rethink this).

And until about an hour ago, he definitely had not expected Spock to display such amounts of passion and desire in their first sexual encounter – but evidently, Jim thought, as they laid back down on the bed after having cleaned themselves, this was not to be the case either.

In fact, their whole relationship up to this point could be characterized as a string of situations which began by Jim making an assumption, proceeded by Spock proving this assumption wrong and ended by Jim being rather shocked, but very pleased by the unexpected turn of events.

At this very moment, it appeared that the chain of surprises would continue, judging from the fact that Spock suddenly shifted closer, which was very close indeed, pressing the length of his body against Jim's, when Jim had not expected him to want more than having their shoulders touch. _Wrong again_, Jim thought. Spock meanwhile finished his movement by placing a possessive arm across Jim's chest and then going quite still, clearly indicating that this was the position he intended to fall asleep in.

Jim quickly recovered from the amusement at his bed partner's snuggling action when he noted that he still felt very hot. _Extremely_ hot that was. Sweatily, unpleasantly, almost unbearably hot.

Heated as their intercourse may have been, he definitely should have cooled down by now. Instead, he seemed to be heating up more and more. He briefly wondered whether he was running a fever and even felt his forehead with the back of his hand. This only confirmed that all parts of his body were equally hot and moist with perspiration.

Although when he focused on it, he realized that he was able to trace the epicentres of the heat: his right shoulder, actually make that his whole right arm, his right thigh, well, in fact the whole right half of his body plus the long searing stripe of skin on his chest that was covered by that _scorching_ arm ...

Oh.

Well, that should have been obvious. No wonder he felt overheated when he was being held in a burning hug by the living heat generator himself.

Jim began to feel keen sympathy for all those poor bacteria who lived in hot springs and geysers. But then, they probably liked living there because they liked the high temperatures. He certainly did not like this. Or any other circumstances that had him deliberating whether it felt more like being baked in a furnace or bathed in lava.

But he liked Spock.

And somehow he did not suppose that rolling away from him to the farthest possible place on the bed would convey that particular sentiment ... Actually, a selfish little voice in his mind added, more like rolling away from _under_ him, because Spock was really lying half-way on top of him and in all seriousness, who could possibly think this would be a comfortable position?

Nonetheless, the problem at hand was that Jim didn't know whether Spock gave any significance to what they did, post coitum. Maybe he didn't care that much, and the current arrangement of their bodies was just random. Albeit purposefully trying to boil somebody else's blood did not seem very - he really was thinking too much about this.

This was all because of it being the first time he was about to sleep in the same bed with him. Although sleep did not seem like a very probable result of his current condition. _Melting_ seemed more likely. Still, he didn't want to disappoint Spock and waking him up by pushing him away would most likely qualify as such.

Supposing Spock was already asleep, of course. But his breathing was even - not to mention hot - so Jim supposed he was. Obviously there was no excessive heat bothering _him_.

It reminded him of one hot summer night of his childhood when the air conditioning in their house had broken and he had laid on his bed with the windows wide open, the sheet feeling all scratchy and damp under him, the air stuffy and oppressing, and he had been thinking about icicles, falling snowflakes and frozen rivers ...

And thus, thinking about icicles and avalanches and blizzards, Jim endured another couple of minutes to make sure Spock was asleep and then, at a speed of an inch per minute, slowly but surely began pulling himself from beneath Spock.

Finally, placing a safe distance between himself and the heat-radiating body, he let his head drop down on the pillow and relishing in the relative coolness of the sheets, he wiped his brow and exhaled in relief. He would not melt tonight, after all.

Still, he did not expect to _freeze_ any time soon, either, which was exactly what happened when an even, if slightly accusatory voice, cut through the silence.

"Why have you just removed yourself from my embrace?"

"I... you – look, not that I don't like, erm, touching you, but I was getting really hot from that – temperature-wise, and I just can't sleep like that. In the heat." Jim fumbled with his explanation.

"I see." Spock said. But before Jim could congratulate himself on quickly getting the awkward moment out of the way, he added: "What I do not see, however, is why you did not simply tell me so and preferred to sneakily extricate yourself from me."

"Well I guess I didn't want to … make it seem like I didn't like it.''

"But you did _not_ like it." Spock said coldly.

"Well I did not like the _heat_," Jim reacted and after a moment jokingly specified again. "Temperature-wise."

But Spock would have none of it: "I had been under the impression that communication was one of the fundamentals of a working relationship. Therefore, I do not understand why you thought it would be better not to inform me of whatever difficulties you were having."

"Well, I thought it was, well, a little too early to start communicating like this?" Jim blurted out, a little angrily, because _he_ had made an effort.

Long silence.

Too _late_ for that. Not _too early_. He should have said it was _too late at night to discuss it_. That would have sounded better. Not _too early_. What was he thinking? _Too late_ sounds so much better. Well too late for this, too.

At last, Spock said, frostily: "I see."

And that was that.

Spock apparently had nothing more to say on the matter and so Jim spent the next few moments pondering whether he had just managed to magnificently screw up and destroy the charm of their first night together, then he inwardly berated Spock for automatically playing the offended party, then he fought amusement and disbelief at having just been seriously thinking sappy thoughts about first night charms, after which he devoted a couple more minutes to suppressing the suddenly emerging dread that this particular first time might also very well be the last, because frankly, he still didn't find out whether Spock required cuddling as an essential part of relationship - this briefly amused him again - but then, at a long last, he fell asleep, dreaming of nothing at all.

****

Thank you, Reader, please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

When the shrill sound of the automatic alarm abruptly roused Jim from sleep, Spock had already gone. This was not unusual, since Spock seemed to take the duty hours very leniently, meaning that he never arrived on time but at least thirty minutes and most often a whole hour earlier.

He was also apparently able to set himself to awaken at any desired time, so it made sense for him to slip away silently, not needing to rely on the decidedly indiscreet alarm-clock which would have inevitably woken Jim up.

There was no need to over-analyze Spock's absence, Jim told himself, as he rubbed his eyes and blinked into the artificial lighting. He had left early simply because it was a part of his daily routine. Not because he was sulking or anything.

Reasoning along those lines, Jim got up and made a futile attempt to arrange the sheets on his side of the bed so they would resemble Spock's meticulously made-up half.

Oh no! His half and Spock's half, that did not sound too good. They had hardly started sleeping together and he was already dividing the bed. And this was not the way _Spock_ wanted it, either. In Spock's perspective, he was the one who did the rejecting. But really, there was not much Jim could do, was there?

Supporting a healthy relationship by indulging in a not directly sexual physical contact was one thing, dying of hyperthermia another. Even so, he really needed to work on this. First of all, he would make sure Spock understood that the sole reason for Jim's reluctance to well, _cuddle _ was his different, obviously less heat-resistant physiology. Otherwise he would be all for snuggling, nuzzling, caressing and whatnot - well, provided they maintained the general public impression of daily rejoicing in obnoxious amounts of wild sex.

And once he got _that_ taken care of, he would make some nonchalantly reassuring comment that would shoot down the stupid _stupid_ remark about the early state of their relationship, which, when he thought about it, maybe got to Spock more than the whole (not) cuddling part. Afterwards, all would be well.

But for the time being, Jim decided to focus on his work as there was a shuttle bay and cargo hold inspection scheduled for the day. And if Jim was resolving to focus, Spock would no doubt be so consumed in his duties that he would not even perceive Jim for the sensual, irresistible young male that he was but rather as an indeterminate human entity labeled Captain. So the Big Talk would have to wait for later.

Thus scheming, Jim arrived to the Bridge. Spock was nowhere in sight.

Jim had been so convinced he would find his First Officer working away at the science station that he simply stopped in his tracks, baffled. Surprised yet again, although this time none too pleasantly. Something must have come down.

Catching sight of him, Uhura stood up and politely briefed him on the current development:

"There has just been some minor trouble reported in the Engineering, sir. Mr. Spock went there to assess the situation."

It turned out that the 'minor trouble' was a ruptured dilithium crystal. Since the Enterprise could not afford to continue on her assignments with decreased warp core efficiency, it was necessary that they stop at the nearest Federation planet and obtain replacements. One such planet was Frigus VII, mere three hours away even at limited speed.

During the preparations for their call there, Spock displayed his usual professionalism and natural reserve. This was only to be expected but even so, Jim would have given his Advanced Tactics contest trophy for any indication of whether he was still about the events of the previous night.

Before long, the Enterprise attained the orbit of Frigus VII.

Given that this was to be a very short, quickly arranged stop on a friendly planet, the landing party consisted of only three people: Jim, because he represented the Federation; an Engineering technician, because she specialized in hypersonic elements; and Spock, because it was an unspoken rule that he participated in every beam-down on principle.

As they were taking their positions on the transporter pad, Jim unintentionally brushed Spock's arm. This earned him a raised eyebrow accompanied by an odd, lasting look, but then Spock's features dissolved in the swirl of the transportation beams.

The first thing Jim noticed when they rematerialized on the surface of Frigus VII was that it was pretty damn cold down there.

Their surroundings didn't make a particularly inviting impression either – vast planes covered in snow and ice in one direction and tall, austere buildings, all glossy shades of gray, in the other.

The welcoming party who were already approaching, on the other hand, seemed the picture of joviality. As soon as their faces became discernible, all five of them were revealed to be wearing friendly, almost enthusiastic expressions, as if trudging through the snow to meet uninvited Starfleet officers was the highlight of their day.

Well, maybe it was; unless there were casinos and music clubs hidden inside the dark constructions in the distance, this seemed like a pretty dull place.

As their hosts drew nearer, it also became apparent that they were all human, confirming the Federation Planets Compendium information that the Earth colonists largely prevailed over the indigenous population.

When the jolly group came to stand facing them, a tall, sightly woman in the middle addressed Jim.

"Captain Kirk," she greeted in Standard, smiling. The two pairs of uniformly dressed men who flanked her sides bowed their heads and flashed a toothy grin in unison. "My name is Nevicca and I serve as the local governor. We are glad to be of help during your emergency. Please follow me."

And they did, down the white, frosty lane that led to a majestic dark-marble edifice. It was a relatively short walk, but the chilling wind made it seem significantly longer. Jim made a mental note to _always _dress according to a planet's climate, even though they may expect to be directly admitted indoors.

He lowered his head, frowning against the freezing air.

"Cold, Captain?" Spock glanced at Jim. The smugness of his words was undermined by his tightly folded arms which were obviously failing at suppressing the constant shivers running across his warm-requiring body.

But all the same, he apparently _wasn't_ over last night.

Jim disliked answering sarcastic rhetorical questions, so he kept his silence.


	3. Chapter 3

When they finally entered the warm, ensconcing interior of the marble building, Nevicca approached Jim: "The dilithium depositories are located in the laboratory. Do you wish to supervise the preparation of the crystals?"

Jim supposed they did and so he turned to his companions: "Lieutenant Hawes, please go assist in the lab, Mr. Spock, do you, ehm, also want to go?"

That sounded a little too tentative for a Federation flagship Captain, so just to make sure everybody knew who was who, he gestured toward Spock, explaining: "This is the First Officer."

All turned to look at Spock, who opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Nevicca, who seemed to notice him for the first time and all but exclaimed in surprise: "Oh, I see that he is a Vulcan!" She watched Spock for a moment, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Does he know that our most prominent architects are currently assisting in the development of the new Vulcan colony?" She gazed at Jim, for some reason expecting him to supply the answer in Spock's place.

Gracefully overlooking the fact that he was discussed in the third person, Spock confirmed: "I am indeed aware of this." Nevicca didn't seem to register his reply and kept staring inquiringly at Jim.

Nonplussed by her elitist conversational manners, but reluctant to violate any cultural tradition of an allied planet, Jim repeated Spock's statement to Nevicca: "Yeah, he is aware of this."

"Would he be interested in viewing this city's architecture?" she addressed Jim again, with startling eagerness.

Jim looked at Spock: "Would you be interested -"

"Yes, that would be a pleasure, governor," Spock cut him short. When Nevicca still didn't react to Spock speaking, Jim, feeling increasingly like an idiot, related Spock's agreement to her.

"Well then, let me escort you there," Nevicca tossed an invitation in Jim's direction and then instructed one of her aides: "Accompany the technician to the laboratory."

"Call us when we're ready to beam up," Jim said to Lieutenant Hawes and then briskly came into step with Spock, following Nevicca up a flight of stairs.

*  
Standing on a spacious, elongated balcony, the freezing wind again rushing into their faces, they admired the vista of the many-steepled city. Or, more accurately, Nevicca pointed and described, still seemingly focusing her attention solely on Jim, Spock stood nearby with his hands folded behind his back, presumably listening to Nevicca's commentary and observing the indicated structures, and Jim kept glancing between the two of them, altering his expression from politely interested to apologetic and back again accordingly.

Concluding her narration, Nevicca once again directed a statement concerning Spock at Jim: "It fills me with such great sorrow that Vulcan was destroyed – because of all the lost lives, of course, but also because of the uniqueness of its climate. There are many planets like Frigus VII in this Quadrant, cold and inhospitable, but only a few were like Vulcan – so warm and welcoming."

_Or more like hot and scorching_, Jim thought bitterly, remembering the tactile fiasco of the previous night. He nodded to Nevicca and gave Spock a somewhat shy look and shrugged, hoping to convey his _I don't know why she keeps talking to me_ confusion.

But Spock seemed to have already adjusted to the style of the conversation and replied, looking at the side of Nevicca's head: "You are no doubt referring to those planets that are inhabited by sentient beings. It appears that most of the Universe's populaces simply prefer the relatively colder conditions."

Way to go to make this even more uncomfortable, as if playing a mediator in the conversation between the governor and his, um, First Officer wasn't enough for Jim. He sighed and 'translated' to Nevicca:

"He says that most creatures chose the colder planets to colonize because they prefer those conditions."

But Nevicca, unlike Jim, didn't evidently care much for the content of Spock's word and said, rather unrelatedly: "My ancestors have mixed with the natives of this planet and adopted many of their traditions. However, I have always found myself drawn to different cultures. Vulcan especially."

What _was_ this about, really?


	4. Chapter 4

Listening to Nevicca talk about her fondness for the Vulcan culture, Jim speculated about the motivation for her peculiar manners. She was clearly intending her words for Spock, but seemed to be determined to speak to him through Jim and even pretend not to hear any of Spock's replies – which were despite the snubbing still a definition of cordiality - instead she waited for Jim to relay them to her.

Perhaps the customs of this planet forbade to directly address officers of lower rank in the presence of their superiors? That sounded quite problematic. Especially because it would be quite demanding on the one in charge if there were more subordinates present. Jim didn't reckon he could play the interpreter for all his Bridge personnel. Because that would be insane, not to mention just plain silly.

Or maybe this applied only to some individuals? Perhaps she wasn't allowed to speak to more than one visitor at a time? Or more than one Earth-saving hero? More then one attractive person?

Moreover, the topic of their contorted three-way conversation precluded the possibility of her for whatever twisted reason disapproving of Spock. She spoke of Vulcans with the greatest respect and even admiration, so naturally Spock interested her, probably much more so than the ordinary human that Jim was.

So, Jim mused, let's look at this _logically_: She doesn't dislike him. Neither is she indifferent to him. What other possibilities are there?

Oh. Wait. Oh, no. Does she -

"Captain Kirk," Jim noticed Nevicca was addressing him. He blinked and realized he had forgotten to listen.

"Yes?"

Nevicca gave him an unprecedentedly harsh look – she evidently resented it when it was _her_ who was being ignored – and repeated what he had missed:  
"The Native Frigans have a saying: 'If the lake is frozen the fish can't meet.' Can you guess what they mean by it?"

"I, er - " Seriously, how long did it take to grab a couple of crystals? He was all set to go now, he'd had enough of freezing on this balcony and spending ages looking at the buildings which were all the same dull and grey. Except for the fact that similar dull and grey houses were presently being built on New Vulcan. So maybe he ought to be careful with adjectives.

All in all, this was just getting beyond ridiculous.

"I suspect," Spock stepped forward, when Jim didn't appear to able to elaborate, "that the symbolism of the maxim is based on the concept of the ice obstructing the fish from moving freely." He was standing rather close to Nevicca and looking straight at her.

And this time, she didn't act as if she hadn't heard him. Instead, she smiled, returning the intent look: "I'm glad we understand each other, Mr. Spock. The meaning is very plain; it says that the fish can't swim to each other when there is ice between them."

Jim shivered, once again reminded of the planet's cold climate when a particularly frosty gust of wind hit him. Also, was he correct in understanding that Nevicca was implying -

"In _other words_, Captain Kirk," she glared at Jim as if he was being stupid and obtrusive on purpose. "Would_ice_ be so kind as to let the fish share a few moments alone?" And she indicated the doorway, cuing him to leave.

"Huh?" So now he was _ice_?

And this whole indirect business had been some kind of getting to know you the long and difficult way? Some courting ritual? And she was now asking him to leave her and Spock alone? Because they were both _fish_? How more awkward and preposterous could this get?

He began to keenly long to be back in Spock's burning embrace, because back then all had been hot, but also simple and secure – not at all like now, on this cold planet where he had to make a continuous effort to stop his teeth from chattering and where he was alone and worst of all, where he wasn't at all sure where he stood or with Spock or what he was supposed to do right at this moment.

But Nevicca was still ordering him to leave with her gaze and he dearly wished he had not been such a sissy last night and had just _withstood_ the heat, because really, it wasn't that unbearable and more importantly, it would have enabled him to just smirk and tell the arrogant woman _Sorry darling, but this Vulcan is taken._

Which he couldn't quite do now, could he?

So he didn't do much else than just stood there, speechless and doubtful, and waited for something to happen and end his misery.

And something did.

_*****_

_Thank you, Readers, please review. _


	5. Chapter 5

If Jim had been previously _surprised_ by some of Spock's unexpected actions, then it would be right to say that what Spock did following Nevicca's demand for Jim to leave completely _floored_ him.

Spock moved from where he was standing and walked over to Jim. He didn't meet his eyes but instead turned to stand by his side facing Nevicca:  
"I apologize if I have given you the wrong impression, Governor, but I prefer the ice."

And with that, he put his arm around Jim's waist and pulled him closer, adding: "Though there are some minor … discrepancies, we _do_ quite complement each other."

Nevicca stared at them, looking affronted for a few moments, but then she swiftly gathered herself: "I don't understand what you're talking about, I was speaking in strictly general terms."

Well, that didn't make much sense and all three of them knew it, but there were certain rules of solidarity toward the rejected admirers which were pretty much universal and Jim was still too stunned to even begin to consider gloating about getting the man. Because he did get him, right?

"I will just - ," Nevicca stuttered a little, apparently searching for an excuse, " - go see if they're making progress with the crystals."

Visibly flustered, she disappeared inside.

That left Jim and Spock alone on the balcony, still in the same position. Spock's half-embrace felt very pleasant in the cold wind, sending the much needed warmth through Jim's body.

After a moment Spock moved as to let go, but Jim quickly reacted and turning face to face with him, he wrapped his arms around Spock's lower back and intensified their contact. Spock didn't object.

"So," Jim said after a prolonged moment of relishing in the closeness of Spock's warm body, "I thought that Vulcans were rather conservative on the public displays of affection front."

"They are," Spock replied and there was a bemused undercurrent in his voice. "However, if circumstances require it, it is quite legitimate to demonstrate their ... interest in another person in a sufficiently expressive physical manner."

"Yeah? Isn't this what the innocent hand touching is for?" Jim couldn't help but ask.

"Do I understand it correctly that you would rather we merely held hands?"

"No, of course not," Jim smiled.

So all went pretty quickly back to all well and good, didn't it? Even so, there were some things that needed to be addressed:

"Sorry about last night."

"What particular occurrence of the previous night are you referring to?" Spock pushed Jim a little away from himself so as to be able to look in his eyes.

"Um – the not touching part, obviously?" Jim said, confused.

Spock ran his fingers through Jim's hair: "That is of no consequence. I ought to apologize myself for requiring something that is far from comfortable for you to provide."

Evidently Spock had been doing some thinking as well, although his sudden willingness to unconditionally forgive and forget everything was, well, unexpected. But then, Spock wasn't one to hold a grudge. Jim tried his best to show his relief.

"Really? I'm glad you're taking it so well. I didn't expect you would so easily - I mean, we can still hug, especially in generally colder conditions, like right now, because that's not, um, bad at all, actually, it feels pretty good, great, really," Jim blabbered a little until Spock interrupted him.

"I shall be looking forward to all such occasions, then," he said, but then his expression hardened somewhat. "Nonetheless, this is not the only last night's incident we need to address."

Oh, so this _was_ going to be about the _too early_ remark after all. Just when Jim was beginning to think that it was all back to normal ... In confirmation of his premonition, Spock elaborated: "I am of course referring to the rather puzzling comment you made concerning the 'too early' stage of our relationship. I found it quite disconcerting. Would you be so kind as to explain your motivation for uttering it?"

Spock sounded serious, so Jim tried his best to disperse any doubts he may have had about Jim's intentions.  
"Oh that? Well, it was just a slip, I didn't know what I was talking about really, whatever it may have sounded like, I didn't mean it – I mean, I'm not really thinking about, um, what we have, in stages, like an early stage, a middle stage, a late stage or whatever, I'm honestly just thankful that -"

Only then did he notice that what was glinting in Spock's eyes was not worry, but amusement.

"Wait – are you -"

"Jim, it astounds me that such a sportive individual as yourself is so easily caught in a ploy that you personally informed me is identified as 'teasing'."

Jim stared at him for a minute, and then, since there was really nothing else left to do, he leant closer:

"Kiss me."

So Spock did and it was long and wet and gratifying and made them forget all about the cold wind around them and the coldness that was between them only a few moments ago -

"Ehm, hem," an uncertain voice sounded from behind them. Startled, they sprang apart. Lieutenant Hawes was standing in the doorway, looking the definition of embarrassed.

Jim imagined the embarrassment would not last too long, by dinner time, she would be most likely theatrically complaining to her friends about having to do all the hard work while the first and second in command make out on a balcony.

"Captain," she said after a prolonged moment of awkward silence, "we're ready to beam-up."

As they were getting ready to do so, Jim said to Spock in a low voice: "We've really got to do something about your irresistible urge to smooch me in public."

"Satisfy it in private, perhaps?"

"Yeah, something along those lines."

*****

_And this completes my longest fan fiction up to date. Yay._

_Please review and tell me what I did wrong so I can improve :)_


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